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By Michael Frisch

The Ontario Law Society Tribunal Hearing Division has revoked an attorney’s license

The allegations

The notice of application asserted three different forms of misconduct:

1.     the respondent created, proffered, or otherwise relied upon fraudulent financial instruments and documents relating to estate matters, and that in doing so, she:

a.  Participated in dishonest or fraudulent conduct, contrary to Rules 2.1-1 and 3.2-7 of the Rules of Professional Conduct (Rules);

b.   Misappropriated or otherwise dealt dishonestly with a third party’s money and property, contrary to Rule 1.1-1; and

c.   Made improper use of a trust account, contrary to Rule 3.2-7.3;

2.     the respondent failed to maintain books and records contrary to By-Law 9, Part V; and

3.     the respondent created, proffered or otherwise relied upon a fraudulent retainer agreement in her dealings with Client AA and the Law Society, and in doing so, failed to conduct herself with honour and integrity and misled the Law Society, contrary to Rules 2.1-1 and 2.1-2.

Respondent

Ms. Mohammed-Ali was partners with a paralegal, Pawandeep Bobby Singh Tut, in a law firm called Juris Litigators LLP from October 2016 until his untimely death on December 6, 2020. The Lawyer also had her own firm, Lex Law Group Inc., and Mr. Tut had his own legal practice, TRG Legal Services Professional Corporation (“TRG Legal”).

In the days immediately after Mr. Tut’s death, security footage for one or more surveillance cameras at the offices of the Lawyer and Mr. Tut went missing or was disabled. We infer from the surrounding circumstances that Ms. Mohammed-Ali either disabled security cameras or destroyed the security footage some time between December 6 and 9, 2020.

During that time period, we find that Ms. Mohammed-Ali broke into Mr. Tut’s office credenza and removed items from it and broke into a locked safe and removed money, documents and other items. A 2017 partnership agreement between Mr. Tut and Ms. Mohammed-Ali was among the documents removed from Mr. Tut’s office.
 
Then
    In December 2020, Ms. Mohammed-Ali prepared four false documents, in addition to the fraudulent cheques referenced below. The first was a notice of change for TRG Legal filed three days after Mr. Tut died, naming herself as an officer for TRG Legal in an untitled position. This was updated by a second false notice of change on February 26, 2021, naming Ms. Mohammed-Ali as a director of TRG Legal.
 
The documents included a false will and partnership agreement.
 
Ms. Mohammed-Ali used at least 27 fraudulent cheques to withdraw money from TRG Legal’s trust account, as well as from Juris Litigators’ trust and general accounts. The majority of these cheques were made payable to Lex Law or Lex Law in trust, and falsely dated to dates pre-dating Mr. Tut’s death, but were not cashed until January 2021.
 
Sanction

There has been a wholesale failure on the part of Ms. Mohammed-Ali to act with integrity, probity or trustworthiness. She has stolen from the estate of her deceased partner, lied to his widow, lied to other licensees and at least one client, lied to her regulator, fabricated documents, forged cheques, misappropriated trust funds, and generally acted in a reprehensible manner that is deserving of the strongest condemnation. Her failure to keep proper books and records following the death of Mr. Tut can only be explained as another feature supporting her deliberately dishonest and fraudulent conduct. Proper books and records would have created a record of the fraudulent cheques, transfers and self-dealing that Ms. Mohammed-Ali was engaged in throughout December 2020 and January 2021, as she stripped the assets out of TRG Legal.

The consequences of Ms. Mohammed-Ali’s conduct were poignantly explained by Ms. Singh in a victim impact statement, in which she described as a “nightmarish situation” with “an overwhelming financial impact” that she had to navigate, robbing her of the opportunity to grieve the sudden loss of her husband. The position Ms. Singh was forced into highlights both the direct harm that was caused by Ms. Mohammed-Ali’s dishonesty, and why it is of central importance to the public that licensees act with the upmost probity.
 
Respondent did not participate in the hearing. (Mike Frisch)

Posted in:
Bar Discipline & Process